Price Analysis, February 14 2018

Regulators around the world are trying to stifle the popularity of cryptocurrencies. But every time they do this, the crypto world bounces back bigger and stronger than ever before.

Jesse Powell, founder and CEO of Kraken, believes that the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies will more than double from the current levels and reach the $1 trillion USD milestone by the end of the year.

However, as the market matures, it will start differentiating between cryptocurrencies. Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse believes that many will sink to zero because they don’t have anything worthwhile to offer.

But is there no way to stop the pump and dump that is the usual feature in some of the smaller coins?

Lon Wong, president of NEM, believes that nothing much can be done about price manipulationuntil the market matures.

As traders, we always keep a protective stop loss to safeguard our capital and because the crypto markets are open 24/7, the risks of a gap down opening are nonexistent. So, our readers need not worry even if prices of a few cryptocurrencies drop to zero.

Let’s see if we find bullish setups on any of the top 9 coins.

BTC/USD

Bitcoin is attempting to extend its recovery, but it is likely to face a strong resistance from the current levels to the $9,500 mark, from the downtrend line, the 20-day EMA and the horizontal resistance.

There are two possibilities – the price will either break out or turn down from here. Do we know for sure which one will happen? No. So, we should be ready for both scenarios.

If the BTC/USD pair breaks out of $9,500 and sustains for four hours, it confirms a breakout and we recommend long positions with a stop loss of $7,800. Our first target is a move to the 50-day SMA, which currently is at about $11,780. Above this, we might see a move to the resistance line of the descending channel.

Secondly, if the price turns down from $9,500 and breaks below $7,800, a slide to $7,000 is likely.

As we don’t have a confirmation of a bottom yet, it is recommended to keep the position size only 50 percent of usual.

ETH/USD

Ethereum formed an inside day candlestick pattern yesterday, February 13. Today, it is trying to extend the pullback.

The recovery looks strong as the ETH/USD pair has not given up much ground since bottoming out on February 6, at $565.54.

Overhead resistance is at the 20-day EMA at $902 and the 50-day SMA at $985, whereas support is at $775.

Aggressive traders can initiate long positions once the price sustains above $902 for four hours. The positions should be closed at the 50-day SMA, if the cryptocurrency struggles to break out of it, else a move to the resistance line of the descending channel, around the $1,050 to $1,100 mark might happen.

BCH/USD

Since the large range move on February 8, Bitcoin Cash has been trading in a small range. As most cryptocurrencies are showing signs of a recovery, we expect this consolidation to resolve on the upside.

The BCH/USD pair has a history of vertical rallies. Therefore, we want to take this trade. Currently, the price has broken out of the downtrend line and the descending channel, but it is yet to clear the 20-day EMA, which is at $1,351.

We recommend a buy at $1,400. The up move can extend to the 50-day SMA at $1,860 and thereafter to $2,000. The stop loss for the trade can be kept at $1,100.

XRP/USD

Ripple has been trading in a tight range for the past four days. It is currently facing resistance at the 20-day EMA. If it breaks out of this, we expect it to gain momentum.

Therefore, we had recommended a long position on the XRP/USD pair in our previous analysis.

We reiterate our buy call because with most of the cryptocurrencies moving up, we believe that a rally to $1.50 and thereafter to $1.74 is possible. However, we recommend buying only after the digital currency sustains above $1.08 levels for four hours.

Our bullish view will be invalidated if the digital currency breaks down of $0.86.

XLM/USD

Stellar is also showing signs of a change in trend. It has broken out of the overhead resistance at $0.41 and is currently at the resistance line of the descending channel.

Once the price sustains above the channel, it will signal a change in trend and a move to $0.63 is likely. We recommend a long position on the XLM/USD pair at $0.45 with a stop loss at $0.30 on daily closing basis (as per UTC time frame).

We note that the resistance at the 50-day SMA should be watched carefully. If the bulls struggle to breakout of this, it is prudent to close the position.

LTC/USD

We have been bullish on Litecoin for the past few days. We had recommended a long position in it in our previous analysis. Our trade triggered today and our readers would have entered long positions at $180. The break out above $175 has completed a short-term double bottom, which has a minimum target objective of $242.

The price has broken down of the critical support of 0.00004070. Unless the bulls quickly climb above this level, there might be a fall to the next support level of 0.0000246.

Our bearish view on the ADA/BTC pair will be invalidated if the price breaks out of the downtrend line of the descending triangle.

NEO/USD

NEO has reached the critical overhead resistance of $120 from where it has returned on three previous occasions. Once the cryptocurrency breaks out of this level, we might see a move towards the downtrend line of the descending triangle pattern.

We retain our recommendation for a buy call given on the NEO/USD pair in our previous analysis. Traders can go long once the price sustains above $121 for four hours. The stop loss can be kept at $100. Target objective is a rally to $140.

EOS/USD

EOS has reached a critical resistance zone of $9.8 to $10.6. In this zone, it has resistance from the 20-day EMA, the 50-day SMA and the downtrend line.

The EOS/USD pair will change its trend once it breaks out of the downtrend line. Until then, we are unable to recommend any reliable trades in it.